The transition to a carbon-free economy will not go through recourse to taxation or public debt, assured Tuesday, May 23 the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, the day after the presentation of a report which recommends in particular opt for these two options, but also to tax the financial wealth of the wealthiest.
At the microphone of RTLthe tenant of Bercy affirmed that“a new tax is not the solution” and that government policy is to lower the tax burden”. Bruno Le Maire also assured that there was no question to worsen the state of our public finances. The two options that are not good options in my opinion are raising taxes or increasing our debt, which is already too high”.
The report – commissioned by Elisabeth Borne from economist Jean Pisani-Ferry and whose rapporteur is Inspector General of Finance Selma Mahfouz – claims that “decarbonization will call for additional investment” public and private of 66 billion euros per year.
“Financing the ecological transition without worsening our public finances”
What are the government’s ways to finance the ecological transition? Bruno Le Maire listed four options, some of which have already been mentioned to finance the law on green industry: the greening of existing taxation (already mentioned by Jean Pisani-Ferry), the mobilization of French savings, the financing of the ecological transition by companies and the mobilization of banks, including the European Investment Bank, “Who should become the European climate bank”.
“Here are four alternative solutions that I put on the table this morning (…)all this should allow us to have the means to finance the ecological transition (…) without worsening our public finances”said Bruno Le Maire.